Two of the teenagers put on a jitterbug exhibition at the Bobby Socks Concert at the
swank Trocadero on the Sunset Strip. The kids were the guests of Louis Jordan and
his Orchestra, who were featured at the Troc. 500 teenagers danced, sipped cokes and
pronounced the experiment a success in June 1944. -- Los Angeles Herald Examiner

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Happy New Year!!!! Let's dance!!!"

--
--Rusty & Her Rhythm Pals

* * * * THIS WEEK AT THE RHYTHM CLUB * * * *

* Wednesday -- January 8th *

LIVE MUSIC!!
MORA'S MODERN SWINGTET!

Yes, Happy New Year! What better way to start the new year than by swing dancing! We wanted to start the year out with a bang, so we've got Mora's Modern Swingtet for your dancing pleasure. This popular Los Angeles band will keep your feet flying! (To read more about them, see our Link of the Week)

CD SIGNING!!!!!

Dean Mora, that swell band leader, will also be on hand during his breaks to sit down and sign your personal copy of his new cd ""Goblin Market" (we got an advance copy, and all we can say is "Wow!"). He'll have this cd and his fabulous other ones available for purchase. Make sure to add these to your ever-growing music collection, and support our local heros!

Here's what Mr. Mora himself has to say about the new cd: " "GOBLIN MARKET" SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES! (or flapjacks -- take your pick, to each their own)
Our latest CD is enjoying brisk sales -- if you haven't purchased your copy
yet, WHY NOT?!! Get know the work of Spud Murphy, one of the great unsung
heroes of the original Swing Era, and the last surviving member of the
legendary Benny Goodman organization of 1935.

DANCE CLASS AT THE RHYTHM CLUB THIS WEEK!!!

You read that right! It's our first Wednesday of the month, so time for a beginners swing dance class at the Rhythm Club with Rusty & Her Rhythm Pal - Giovanni. It's from 7:30pm until 8:00pm and we're sure it's going to be
swell. The class is included in the cover charge ($12 -- live band!!!) so come along
and be a part of it...we'd love to see you there!!!

8:00-11:30pm -- Dance! Dance! Dance!

Admission $7 on dj nights, $12 when live band

Birthdays:
Lynette Rory
Jennifer ( Niffer) Reese
Gretchen Beck

Dance Lesson on the first Wednesday of each month
from 7:30-8:00
(check our calendar)

Thanks to all of you, we have already raised over $450 through our roll-out dance floor raffle for the Professional Dancer's Society (PDS) -- Dancer's Home
and Transition for Dancers Fund. They are going to be so surprised!

If you still want to get your raffle tickets you have two more chances! Either go to http://www.paypal.com, come to the Rhythm Club tomorrow, or call Rusty at 310-606-5606. Once again, here's the scoop:

$5 Raffle Tickets
for
Fabulous Roll-Out Dance Floor
IT COULD BE YOURS!!!

This 4x6 floor easily rolls out and is danceable on any surface. You don't need to "roll
up the carpet", instead, "roll out the floor"! The price of this floor is $450! But you
may be the lucky winner! (for more info about the floor and other dance items, click HERE

A very special thanks to Michael D'Angelo for donating this floor.

MORE ABOUT PDS: PDS is a non-profit organization (so your donation is tax dedutible) that takes care of professional dancers in distress. You may not know this, but there was no dancer's union back in the day, so all those wonderful entertainers you see in the old movies have no special pension except their Social Security. PDS makes sure no professional dancer goes homeless. And for those who need to change careers because of injury or age, PDS retrains them. One of the first phone calls Rusty got after her 2000 broken neck injury was from PDS offering to help financially in any way. They really keep their eyes and ears open.

A big welcome to Rusty's new Rhythm Pals, Ron and Gio. They did a terrific job on their first week of classes! It's going to be a great year with their friendly and creative contributions. Just a reminder for those who were unable to make the first week of classesw, everyone is welcome to join our series during the second week. Come along and join the fun! For complete details on our classes, including times, location, cost and
more, click here: http://www.swingshiftontap.com/lbs-classes.asp

* * * * EXTRA ADDED ATTRACTIONS * * * *

PRIVATES WITH RUSTY

If any of you would like to have a private swing dance lesson, give Rusty a call at 310.606.5606.(Photo: David Saffir)

* * * * LINK OF THE WEEK * * * *

MORA'S MODERN.... -- This week we'd like to highlight our Rhythm Club band leader, Dean Mora. For the past years, he has been bringing back the great sounds of the early swing years -- as he likes to call it "Vintage Swing". Dean's Mora's Modern Rhythmists played at the world-famous Derby for two straight years. And for those of us who were lucky enough to have been around then, let us tell you, those were some great times! In our opinion, it was Dean who really brought in Collegiate Shag and Balboa (he may not even know this himself). His vintage arrangements were brighter (or as some of you might say -- FAST!), so we had to get our dancing acts together and learn more of the swing repetoire to keep up with him. Thank you, Dean! Take a look at his fabulous website (by the way, designed by our very own Stanley Sheff, aka Maxwell DeMille), and you'll see a great historic newsreel, be able to listen to tracks from his various cds, and see a wonderful scrapbook of his activities. Thanks again Dean, for bringing great music for all of us dance addicts!

*Wondering what the heck a "gate" is? This was a phrase popularized by 1940's comedian, Jerry Colonna, who would holler it out every time he was introduced on the Bob Hope radio program. It was a friendly salutation to a swing cat (dancer or swing music enthusiast).